GROWING UP: Washington waited to act, despite being the son of Denzel and Pauletta. “I knew every one of my
father’s lines in Glory—I broke the VHS tape—but I hid my love of acting to make it as my own man. Football was the best route to obtain my independence.” He was signed by the N.F.L.’s St. Louis Rams in 2006. “I was in a whole other business, but I always wanted to dip into the arts. My parents were 100 percent supportive—my mom’s my biggest fan, my father's tough love.“

HBO: His on-screen break was in familiar territory, as wide receiver Ricky Jerret on Ballers, returning with a fourth season this summer. “I’m nothing like this guy, I swear, but it’s therapeutic playing Ricky—there’s something deep down in me that I’m putting into this character.”

THE DANCE: In January, Washington made his Sundance Film Festival debut to raves as a criminal, Bobo, in Monster, and as Dennis, a Brooklyn cop, in Monsters and Men. “It was like a championship weekend, pushing the work forward and supporting everybody’s films.“

IN THE WORKS: This year, Washington appears on the big screen in Old Man and the Gun, starring Robert Redford, and in Spike
Lee’s Black Klansman, as Ron Stallworth. “I was overjoyed to help tell his story. Lee is so confident in who he picks that, as his actor, your confidence soars.”

Get Vanity Fair’s Cocktail Hour

Our essential brief on culture, the news, and more. And it's on the house.